Spacecraft DesignNOAA-M, the latest in the spacecraft series, will broadcast data
directly to thousands of users around the world. The spacecraft will
continue providing a polar orbiting platform to support the environmental
monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring the Earth's complex
coupled systemsit's atmosphere, its surface and cloud cover.
Observations include information about Earth radiation, sea and land
surface temperature, atmospheric vertical temperature, water vapor and
ozone profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere.

Measurement of proton and electron flux at orbit altitude, remote
platform data collection and the Search and Rescue Satellite-aided
Tracking system (SARSAT) are also supported. NOAA-M will be the third in
the series to support a new suite of dedicated microwave instruments to
generate improved temperature and moisture profiles and surface and
hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared
instruments have decreased capability.

The NOAA satellite series is designed for a twoyear mission life, but
historically, they have averaged a lifetime almost twice as long. The
satellite has a threeaxis body stabilized design. This enables the
satellite to point accurately toward the Earth and provide continuous
global images of cloud cover; surface parameters such as snow, ice and
vegetation; and atmospheric temperatures, moisture and aerosol
distributions. The satellite is also able to collect and relay
information from fixed and moving data platforms, such as buoys,
freefloating balloons and remote weather stations.

Each satellite consists of an imaging system, the Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer and a sounding suite of instruments consisting of
the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder and the Advanced
Microwave Sounding Units, one for temperature profiles and one for
moisture profiles.

The NOAA satellites also include a Space Environment Monitor that
provides measurements to determine the intensity of the Earth's
radiation belts and the flux of charged particles at the satellite
altitude. The monitor warns of solar wind occurrences that may impair
long-range communication or high-altitude operations, damage satellite
circuits and solar panels, or change drag and magnetic torque on
satellites.

Also flying on NOAA-M is the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet
Radiometer. Both an imager and a sounder, the Radiometer produces total
ozone maps and measures the ozone distribution in the atmosphere as a
function of altitude. In the past, the Radiometer has not flown in the
morning POES satellite, but the new 10:00 a.m. orbit permits the
collection of ozone data.

Avery important mission of these spacecraft is that of lifesaving.
Each polar-orbiting NOAA satellite, except NOAA-12, is equipped with a
SARSAT system, which receives emergency beacons from ships and aircraft
in distress. SARSAT is part of an international satellite system for
search and rescue that includes the NOAA spacecraft and the
Russian-provided satellite COSPAS. The system consists of the satellites
in polar orbit and an international network of Earth stations, which
provide global distress alert and location information to appropriate
rescue authorities for maritime, aviation and land users in distress.
SARSAT has been attributed to saving more than 12,000 lives since it
became operational in November 1982.

Orbit and Command
NOAA-M will operate in a circular, near-polar orbit of 450 nautical
miles (833 kilometers) above the Earth with an inclination angle of
approximately 98.6 degrees (retrograde) to the Equator. The NOAA-M orbit
period, which is the time it takes to complete one orbit of the Earth,
will be approximately 101.35 minutes. The sunlight period will average
about 71 minutes with approximately 30 minutes in the Earth's shadow.
Since the Earth rotates 25.34 degrees during each orbit, the satellite
observes a different portion of the Earth's surface during each
orbit.

The nominal orbit is Sun-synchronous and rotates eastward about the
Earth's polar axis 0.986 degrees per day, approximately the same rate
and direction as the Earth's average daily rotation about the Sun. The
rotation keeps the satellite in a constant position with reference to
the Sun for constant illumination throughout the year. NOAA-M will be
launched at approximately 2:22 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (11:22 a.m.
Pacific Daylight Time) so that it will cross the Equator at about 10:00
p.m. northbound and 10:00 a.m. southbound local solar time.

The NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center in Suitland, Maryland,
provides spacecraft scheduling, health and safety monitoring and
engineering analyses. NOAA's Command and Data Acquisition stations are
located at Wallops, Virginia, and at Fairbanks, Alaska.

NOAA processes the data in the NOAA Central Environmental Satellite
Computer System and delivers it to the National Weather Service's
National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, Maryland,
National Weather Service forecast offices across the United States,
other Federal agencies, and to public and private users worldwide.